Toxic home brew blamed for death of two Australians

A toxic batch of home-brewed spirits has been blamed for the death of two Australian men in rural Queensland.

In what has been described as an “extraordinary and tragic event”, Joel Lynam, 21, and Bryan Wilmot, 30, are believed to have died from methanol poisoning after drinking home-made grappa.

Mr Lynam’s older brother Joshua, 26, and a friend, Vincent Summers, 21, who also drank the home-distilled spirit, are still in a critical condition in hospital.

The four drank the grappa — an Italian grape-based brandy made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds and stems left over from making wine — on Saturday evening at a property at Ballandean in Queensland’s Granite Belt.

When Joel Lynam was found unconscious on Sunday morning an ambulance was called,